When we were homeschooling, I found a family that had boys the same age as my boys. Almost every week, we would meet together. The boys would play board games together, or other activities. Many times they played educational games, but not always. Sometimes it was just goofing off! At the same time, I would sit and have coffee with the other mom. What a joy! Sipping coffee, tasting a brownie, stitching some needlepoint, we would talk about the woes of homeschooling and parenting teenage boys. What a rejuvenating experience! And real, TRUE socialization for the boys!
Homeschooling is hard work. Make sure you plan some rejuvenating time for fun. Fun can be just for fun, or educational fun – either one is relaxing! Making time for fun is one of the keys to helping your children love homeschooling. It can create a cushion of enjoyment for them, while at the same time give you the moral support that you need. A one-on-one relationship with another homeschooling parent can be more helpful than knowing dozens of homeschooling parents in a crowd. When you meet with another parent individually, they are more likely to share their struggles. When you see other parents in groups, sometimes they only feel comfortable sharing their successes.
Make time for fun. You’ll be more productive because of it!
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J W says:
We were burning out on five days of school a week, so I decided this year the Fridays would be “fun days.” Sometimes our “fun day” falls on another day of the week if there’s a field trip opportunity. We do our hands-on science on Fridays, we play educational games (our favorites include games from the Professor Noggin series http://www.professornoggin.com ), watch educational videos, and Fridays are when my older daughter and I do our planning for our backyard native-plant makeover. Sometimes we cruise the National Geographic News website. The beauty part is it’s still “school” time! It gives us something to look forward to every week, and incentive to do our work well the other four days.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Lisa says:
Great advice! My two boys’ best friends are a family with five (soon to be six) boys. They love to play basketball and other sports when they are together. It helps to have homeschooling moms we can talk to and connect with on a weekly basis.
January 29th, 2009 at 6:55 pm